General G Max A/S -03

I know it doesn't help much since it's not the tire you're looking at, but if you're willing to pay a little more the Conti ExtremeContact DWS is hard to beat for an ultra high performance all season. I had them on my '09 speed3 and loved them. They were quiet and gripped extremely well in all conditions. I'll be putting a set on my wife's Juke when hers need replaced. Not sure what I'll replace my speed3's with yet, but I've got plenty of time to decide.
 
I know it doesn't help much since it's not the tire you're looking at, but if you're willing to pay a little more the Conti ExtremeContact DWS is hard to beat for an ultra high performance all season. I had them on my '09 speed3 and loved them. They were quiet and gripped extremely well in all conditions. I'll be putting a set on my wife's Juke when hers need replaced. Not sure what I'll replace my speed3's with yet, but I've got plenty of time to decide.

Thats the other tire I was looking at, some of the reviews on Tirerack mentioned they have a soft side wall..whats your opinion on the handling?
 
Thats the other tire I was looking at, some of the reviews on Tirerack mentioned they have a soft side wall..whats your opinion on the handling?

Well, they were softer than the RE050's that they replaced, but I was expecting that. The ride quality and grip more than made up for the softer sides. Unless you're auto-x'ing you won't notice until you're really pushing them.

They perform really great in wet conditions and give you a lot of confidence as if the road was still dry. I drove them for that week we had a really bad snow storm here last year that shut down the interstates for a few days and had no problems at all getting around. The thing that really surprised me was how well they grip. Feels more like a summer tire and are really hard to break loose.
 
Thanks for your input on them... I did read that a few people had some vibration at highway speeds that they couldn't get balanced out..any last thoughts on this issue would be helpful as well.
 
I got mine at Discount Tire because they price-matched Sears who had them on sale, but not in stock. When they were first installed they did not balance them correctly (which caused the highway speed shaking) and they had weights all over the rim. I took it back to another location after calling to complain and the manager personally balanced them for me and I haven't had an issue since. I'm guessing they are difficult to balance for some reason, so make sure you go somewhere that has good equipment and knows what they are doing (and also offer free lifetime balancing). Once they are balanced correctly they are smooth as can be and I had no shaking or vibrating at all at any speeds.

They aren't the sportiest looking tire either. They are all-seasons and that's what they look like. From the side they just look like a normal passenger tire, not like an ultra-high performance tire. They don't look bad or cheap, they just look like your average tire... if that makes any sense.

So of course there is no perfect tire. You can't have cold weather/wet traction with the performance of a summer tire, there are always compromises. If you can live with the slightly softer side-wall and a not-so-sporty look, then they are very hard to beat. Just make sure you have them mounted somewhere that knows what they are doing. I think you'll be happy with the performance. They grip like no other, ride quiet and smooth, handle water like it's dry and perform great at all temperatures/conditions. Like I said previously, I was so pleased with them on my speed3 that I'll be replacing the tires my wife's Juke with a set when it's time.
 
Thanks man, all that info really helps alot...I saw them on a Mercedes the other day, and I actually like the tread pattern and the overall look of the tire.
 
Check out onlinetires.com, they have lower prices compared to discount and a few others. Oh and I ran Riken Raptors on my RX-8 for a couple years, they are made by Michelin and are the exact same rubber compound as their Pilot Sport tire...great handling and very inexpensive.
 
I decided to go with the Kumho Ecsta 4X, not a bad tire for the money..but not quite aggressive enough to be considered an Ultra High Performance tire IMO...yes I do realize an all-season tire will not perform like a dedicated summer tire..but calling these all-seasons ultra high performance is alittle misleading for sure!!
 

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